VA voters go for a Brat

After House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) shocking loss [to David Brat]in Tuesday's primary, his pollster attributed the defeat to Democrats voting against Cantor in the primary in order to give their party's nominee a better chance in the general election. 

While some Democratic voters did vote in the Republican primary, the New York Times' Nate Cohn wrote that based on the data, Democrats did not significantly contribute to Cantor's defeat. 

In more Democratic districts, there was higher turnout in Tuesday's primary than there was for Ken Cucinelli, the GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2013. 

However, turnout was even higher in Republican precincts, and Brat carried the precincts won by Cucinelli in 2013 with 56 percent of the vote, according to the Times. 

"But it would be hard to argue that Democrats made up the margin of victory. 

Turnout was still far, far higher in Republican precincts. Democratic areas did not contribute a large number of votes: Only 5,722 votes were cast in precincts where Mr. Cuccinelli failed to eclipse 40 percent of the vote. Mr. Brat won by 7,212 votes over all," Cohn wrote.